Something extraordinary is happening in the American food business. An establishment that has operated in near-total obscurity for eight decades—beloved by devotees but unknown to most Americans—just announced the most audacious expansion plan in its history.
The details are staggering: 1,000 locations nationwide, with 255 new stores set to open in 2026. But the real story isn’t the numbers. It’s about whether authenticity can survive ambition.
The Mystery Behind the Coal-Fired Brick Ovens
New Haven, Connecticut, harbors a culinary secret that most pizza lovers outside the Northeast have never experienced. Three legendary pizzerias—founded in 1925, 1934, and 1938—perfected a style of pizza so distinctive that food writers have debated its supremacy for generations.
Coal-fired brick ovens operating at temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit create something impossible to replicate in conventional kitchens: a crispy, charred crust with sealed-in flavors and a chewy interior that defines the regional style.
The Ratings That Changed Everything
In December 2018, Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports and the nation’s most influential pizza critic, visited one of these three legendary New Haven establishments and awarded it a score of 9.2—tied for 11th place overall in his all-time One Bite Pizza Rankings. Fewer than two dozen of his 1,000-plus reviews have achieved scores of 9 or above, making this rating extraordinarily rare.
Portnoy called the pie “real good” and noted it was “the leader in the clubhouse.” That review, combined with decades of regional devotion, created the perfect setup for what came next.
The Expansion Plan Nobody Saw Coming
The plan targets 255 new locations across twelve states beginning in 2026, with an ultimate goal of 1,000 stores nationwide. Texas emerges as the primary target with 45 planned locations—marking the first major push by a traditional New Haven-style pizzeria into the Sun Belt.
Florida follows with 35 locations, followed by New York and New Jersey with 25 each. Additional locations planned for Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the broader East Coast.
Meet Sally’s Apizza
Sally’s Apizza, founded in 1938 by Salvatore “Sally” Consiglio in New Haven, Connecticut. For nearly nine decades, the brand operated from a single location on Wooster Street, serving thin-crust apizza to pilgrims willing to wait two hours for a table. President John F. Kennedy visited in 1959, cementing its place in American culinary mythology.
The pizzeria’s reputation grew almost exclusively by word of mouth—no national marketing, no franchise model, no ambition beyond excellence in a single location.
A Nationwide Blueprint with Specific Targets
The expansion plan identifies strategic targets across multiple regions with surgical precision. Florida represents the second-largest opportunity with 35 planned locations, followed by New York and New Jersey with 25 each. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, and Massachusetts also feature significantly in the rollout strategy.
Combined, the initial 255-location plan spans twelve states, with preference given to the Northeast and Sun Belt markets where demographics align with Sally’s target consumer profile
Scaling Without Losing Soul
Sally’s partnered with Moseley Group, a consulting firm whose clients include Starbucks Coffee and Chick-fil-A. According to the company’s development materials, Moseley specializes in business diagnostics, supply chain analysis, kitchen design optimization, and franchise implementation.
The partnership addresses the central challenge facing Sally’s: how to replicate the quality and authenticity that built its reputation while operating at a 1,000-location scale. This task has humbled many heritage brands.
Coal-Fired Tradition
Christian Bonaventura, Sally’s brand advisor, articulated the company’s vision explicitly: “Sally’s ambition is to be the Chipotle of pizza. What does that mean? That means being the highest quality culinary product in its category at a 1,000-location scale.” This signals a strategic pivot toward fast-casual positioning rather than full-service dining.
The company plans to introduce Chipotle-sized 3,000-square-foot restaurants designed to reach suburban markets that cannot support the two-hour wait times common at the flagship Wooster Street location.
Coal-Fired Ovens Go Portable
Traditional New Haven apizza requires coal-fired brick ovens operating at temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The coal creates dry heat—as opposed to wood’s moist heat—producing the signature char and sealed flavors that distinguish the style.
Sally’s faces an engineering challenge: whether coal-fired ovens can be standardized for rapid deployment across multiple franchise locations.
The Menu Expands Beyond Pizza
The 38-page expansion documents indicate Sally’s plans to shift beyond its core pizzeria model. New locations will feature Italian entrees, pastas, salads, and full bars with craft cocktails. This represents a significant strategic departure from the flagship location’s stripped-down, pizza-focused format.
The addition of diverse revenue streams is designed to appeal to broader suburban demographics beyond the dedicated pizza pilgrims who currently brave lengthy waits at the original Wooster Street address.
Frank Pepe’s Takes the Slow Road
Sally’s aggressive expansion contrasts sharply with Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana’s measured approach. Frank Pepe’s, founded in 1925 and currently operating 17 locations across seven states, is pursuing “slow and steady growth” without a numerical expansion target.
According to CT Insider, Frank Pepe leadership expressed excitement for Sally’s ambitions while reaffirming its own philosophy of careful development.
The Modern Apizza Approach
Modern Apizza, the third member of New Haven’s “holy trinity,” maintains a single location and has announced no plans for expansion. The family-owned pizzeria continues prioritizing quality and authenticity over growth.
Its stance underscores the cultural tension within New Haven pizza circles: whether scaling to 1,000 locations represents visionary entrepreneurship or a betrayal of the values that made Sally’s legendary.
A Unique Ownership Structure
Sally’s Consiglio family sold the brand to private investment firm Lineage Hospitality in 2017, a transaction that fundamentally altered expansion possibilities. Lineage’s capital resources, combined with its management structure, enable aggressive franchise development that would be impossible under family-only ownership.
Ricky Consiglio, one of the original family operators, remains involved as a brand advisor. This hybrid structure—maintaining cultural continuity while accessing growth capital—distinguishes Sally’s from both Frank Pepe’s and Modern.
The Economics of 1,000 Locations
Industry analysts estimate that opening 1,000 locations would require approximately 32 new locations annually for 30 years, or nearly 50 annually if compressed to 20 years. At those rates, Sally’s would rank among the nation’s largest pizza chains, surpassing Papa Murphy’s (1,044 locations) but remaining smaller than Pizza Hut, Domino’s, or Papa Johns.
Financial industry reports suggest a 1,000-location pizza chain could generate $1.3 to $2.5 billion in annual revenue—substantial but achievable within reasonable timeframes.
The 255-Location Reality Check
The published expansion plan targets 255 locations—not 1,000—starting in 2026. Achieving this intermediate goal would position Sally’s as the nation’s seventeenth-largest pizza chain, placing it between Blaze Pizza and Sbarro. Industry observers view the 255-location goal as more plausible than the 1,000-location aspiration.
Meeting Phase One targets would still represent an extraordinary achievement, creating approximately 3,825 to 6,375 jobs and demonstrating whether New Haven apizza can scale successfully.
Skepticism From Unexpected Quarters
Not everyone celebrates Sally’s ambitions. Bill Pustari, who operates Modern Apizza’s single location, told CT Insider: “To do 250 stores coming up soon, you just kind of are throwing stuff at a wall and seeing if it sticks, I guess. I could be totally wrong, and these guys could be super successful and the richest people around. But I don’t feel like I missed out.”
His skepticism reflects concerns that aggressive expansion fundamentally compromises the values—tradition, family ownership, uncompromising quality—that built New Haven’s pizza reputation across ninety years.
Why 45 Stores in One State?
Texas is Sally’s primary target market, with plans to open 45 locations across the state starting in 2026. According to the Houston Chronicle, this marks the first major Texas push by a traditional New Haven-style apizza brand.
The expansion could generate a significant economic impact, with industry analysts estimating approximately 675 to 1,125 jobs across the forty-five Texas locations. Construction is already underway on initial sites throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts.
JFK Visited; America Awaits
The original Sally’s Apizza served President John F. Kennedy in 1959, an endorsement that cemented its place in American culinary lore. The upcoming expansion represents a fundamental bet that pizza pilgrims need not travel to New Haven to experience authentic apizza.
Construction already underway in Connecticut and Massachusetts provides proof of concept. If successful, Sally’s will have democratized access to what many consider America’s finest pizza.
Can Soul Scale to 1,000?
Ultimately, Sally’s expansion tests a question that transcends pizza: whether heritage brands can maintain authenticity while pursuing industrial-scale growth. The coal-fired ovens, decades of dough fermentation, and meticulous attention to detail that produce two-hour wait times at the original location—these qualities define Sally’s reputation.
Whether a thirty-year-old owner and Moseley Group consultants can successfully transfer these intangibles to suburban shopping centers nationwide remains uncertain. The answer will determine whether Sally’s becomes the Chipotle of pizza or whether authenticity proves impossible to replicate in a franchise setting.
Sources:
Sally’s Apizza Texas Expansion – Houston Chronicle, December 22, 2025
Sally’s Apizza Expansion Plans Announced – CT Insider, December 18, 2025
Famous Pizza Chain Plans 255 New Locations – Syracuse.com, December 19, 2025
Sally’s Apizza Expansion Plans Compared – Yahoo Finance, December 23, 2025
Sally’s Apizza Official Expansion Document – Company Website, 38-page Development Plan
New Haven Pizza History and Rankings – Dave Portnoy One Bite Pizza Rankings, December 2018